Tech Investment in Manchester

Manchester has recently been bestowed with the honour of being the nation’s most liveable city. Awarded to us by the Economist the award speaks volumes for the current financial climate and it is foreseen that Manchester may enter the international top ten within the next two decades.

And so Manchester is at a 21st century sort of crossroads as a city. The choices in the next couple of years can define the city’s reputation for the next decade. And what will truly be the defining piece in the puzzle is Manchester’s economy.

Since the market crashed in 2008 the landscape of Mancunian finance has been a rollercoaster of different foresights. But things are picking up and Manchester was recently named one of the best places in the country to start a business.

George Osborne’s vision for a ‘Northern Powerhouse’ has long been opened to both praise and scepticism. And with many things still up in the air the main question with Manchester’s economy in the future strictly depends on what is going to happen in the next few years as many positions run in concurrent chaos. But our future will align with a prosperous high-tech future.

A recent report by regional think tank North West Ambitions has marked a potential obstacle for a prosperous financial future within Manchester.

As the technological landscape of Manchester continues to change it has the potential to be a direct success to the economy. Manchester has the fastest growing tech industry outside of the North West and leading the vision for the Northern Powerhouse and technology TechNorth partnered with a charity to teach children how to code in the North West. With Manchester made ventures like Lad Bible and Gig pic having roaring success in the digital generation, its proof that there is tech talent in Manchester but North West Ambitions believe that a lot of potential gems are going ignored.

But entrepreneurship in Manchester is slowly building momentum with the recent £350, 000 investment in Manchester start-up. With a mix from investment coming North-West based capital fund and angel investment and investment has also come from Steven Pankhurst, the founder of the original social network Friends Reunited.

The venture created by two Manchester University graduates have created a platform called Clowdy that is setting up to link together creative people throughout the country for potential collaborations and paid work. No doubt it will become essential to British creatives throughout the next few years.

And it was just one in a long line of tech investments that have been building up throughout 2016 and with the success of ecommerce sites based in Manchester like boohoo and misguided a lot of Manchester’s future is aligned with internet success.

In fact tech is shaping up to be big business in 2016 as the national technology sector has had nearly $10 billion worth of investment since 2010. Most of this being in London but the tide is changing with foreign investment moving its attention onto the North of England.